Two directional belt training troughing idler assembly



June 29,1965 1:. c. REILLY T WO-DIREGTIONAL BELT TRAINING TROUGHINGIDLER ASSEMBLY Filed July 26, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR- 50/14// 6.517/}, 241K fZZr/er fl/zaI/My June 1 D. c. REILLY 3,191,761

TWO DIRECTIONAL BELT TRAINING TRQUGHING IDLER ASSEMBLY Filed July 26,1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 I INVENTOR.

fiwm/a 5 1 41/46 United States Patent 3,191,761 TWO D1RET10NAL BELTTRAINING TROUGHING DLER ASEEMBLY Donald C. Reilly, Downers Grove, Ill,assignor to Goodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111., a corporationof Blinois Filed July 26, 1961, Ser. No. 127,948 3 (Jlairns. (Cl.198-202) This invention relates generally to wire rope sideframeconveyors, and particularly to a training roller assembly for suchconveyors wherein the outer rollers can be adjusted to differentpositions relative to the direction of belt travel.

Wire rope sideframe belt conveyors of the type illustrated in the Craggsand McCann'U.S. Patent No. 2,773,- 267 have a flexible belt supported bya plurality of troughing idler assemblies which in turn are suspendedfrom a pair of flexible strands or wire ropes trained along a conveyingcourse. The strands or wire ropes are supported at intervals byappropriate means such as the ground standards illustrated in the Craggsand McCann patent. The troughing assemblies usually include a pair ofend or wing rollers which flank one or more inner or intermediaterollers.

Belt training in wire rope sideframe conveyors is a constant problem,particularly when the conveyor is sub jected to rugged operatingconditions as in coal mines. Detraining of the belt materially reducesits carrying capacity, unnecessarily frays the edges, and sets upstresses and strains in the system which require increased powerconsumption.

It has been found that the rollers in the troughing idler assembliesimpart a training effect to the belt which is directed perpendicular tothe axis of the rollers. It is therefore possible to maintain the beltin train by adjusting the position of the assemblies with respect to thebelt. If the outer end of a wing roller, for example, is canted inwardlytoward the direction of belt travel, the training efi'ect exerted by theroller tends to center the belt on the assembly. Similarly, if the outerend of a wing roller is canted outwardly from the belt with respect tothe direction of belt travel, the belt tends to detrain and movelaterally and outwardly along the roller assembly.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a positionadjustable training roller assembly which can be adapted to train aconveyor belt in a desired direction by appropriately canting the rollerassembly.

Another object of my invention is to provide means which permit cantingof selected idler assemblies in a flexible belt conveyor system.

Another object of thisinvention is to provide a roller assembly withmeans on the end rollers for quickly and efliciently changing theposition of said end roller relative to the direction of conveyor belt.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a roller assemblywherein the outer rollers have bracket plates that coact with astationary support for canting the end rollers inwards and towards thedirection of conveyor belt travel.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a roller assemblywherein the outer rollers have bracket plates with slots that coact witha stationary support to optionally position the end roller in a centerposition and in a canted position towards the direction of belt travel.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description considered in association with theaccompanying drawings wherein by way of illustration and example certainembodiments of the invention are set forth.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of arope sideframe conveyorshowing the improved troughing idler assemblies in place and supportinga load-carrying reach of a flexible conveyor belt,

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view takensubstantially along the line 22 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the idler roller assembly showing theposition adjustable bracket plate, and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side view of the structure shown in FIGURE 3in partial section.

Like reference numerals will be used to indicate like parts throughoutthe specification and drawings.

A portion of a flexible strand conveyor trained along a conveying coursesuch as a mine run or the like is illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2. Theconveyor includes a pair of generally parallel flexible strands 10 and11 which are supported at intervals by supporting standards 12 restingon the floor F of the mine. A rope clamp having cooperating members 3and 8a is shown on the upper end of the supporting stand 12 to hold theflexible strands 1t] and 11. A plurality of troughing idler assembliesindicated generally at 15 are suspended from the strands at suitable.

intervals. A suitable saddle member 14 is connected to the idlerassembly and forms a seat which receives the flexible strands 1t and 11.A return roller 16 is shown, in this instance, as carried by theadjustable supporting stand 12, but it will be understood that thereturn roller could be carried by the flexible strands or any othersuitable supporting structure. The conveying reach 17 of a flexibleconveyor belt is supported by the troughing idler assembly 15 and thereturn reach 18 passes over return roller 16.

Referring now specifically to FIGURE 2, the troughing idler assembly 15is illustrated as including a roller assembly composed of a plurality ofidler rollers 19, 20 and 21. The wing rollers 19 and 21 are supported bya frame or structure which allows such end rollers to flex in a verticalplane and in at least a limited arcuate path. The supporting structurealso connects the end rollers 19 or 21 to the center roller 20. Thesupporting structure for the outer or wing rollers 19 and 21 has oneupright arm 25 and another upright arm 23 extending from the cross brace26. The saddle member 14 is connected to the cross brace 26 by anarticulated chain link 39, which allows movement in a generally arcuatepath. A linking member 22 is fixed in the upright arm 25 and it ispivotally connected to the end of the shaft 28 on the center roller andto the inner end of the shaft 27 on the wing roller. This allows therollers to flex in a vertical plane. The flexible strand 10 or 11 isforced into snug engagement in the U-shaped member or saddle 14 by wedge9. A suitable rope clamp 8 secures the strands 10 and 11 to supportingstands 12 which are laterally separated by a strong brace or strut 7.Brackets 6 extending from the cross brace 7 receive a dead shaft 5 whichsupports return roller 16.

The rollers 19, 20 and 21 in the troughing idler assembly 15 each have adead shaft around which the rollers rotate. Linking member 22effectively connects the inner end of the dead shaft 27 from the wingrollers 19 and 21 With the ends of the dead shaft 28 on the centerroller 20. The outer end of the dead shaft 27 on the wing rollers 19 and21 is secured to the position adjustable bracket plate generallydesignated as 30.

Referring to FIGURES 3 and 4, the outer end of the dead shaft 27 in thewing or outer rollers 19 or 21 is received in the upper portion of thebracket plate 30.

The bottom portion of the bracket plate 30 has an edge with slots '31,31a and 31b each of which is adapted to sit on the shank 32 of asupporting pin extending from the upright arm 23. The shank 3 2 issufliciently long to receive the thickness of the bracket plate in closeseating engagement. The length of the shank 32 is determined by aflanged cap on the supporting pin. Once the slot 31 is seated on theshank 32 of the supporting pin, the bracket plate 50 is restricted fromany rotational movement by means of an anchoring pin 36 and slidewaypassageway 37 on the bracket plate 30. The anchoring pin 36 is held inplace by suitable means such as a cotter pin 38. The slideway passageway37 allows the bracket plate 30 to be slidably moved in a short verticalroute above and below the anchoring pin 56. The range of movement issufficient to allow one slot to be removed from seating engagement onthe shank 32 of the supporting pin and to position another slot on thesupporting pin. The bracket plate 3@ has a laterally extending handle 41which can be used in the lifting movement to engage and disengage theslots from the shank 32 of the supporting p The wing roller is cantedtowards one end of the flexible conveyor belt when slot 31 in one end ofthe plate is seated on the shank 32 of the supporting pin. The positionof the wing roller is indicated by 42.

Phantom outline 43 shows the position of the wing roller when thebracket plate 30 is adjusted so that the intermediate slot 31a sits onand engages the supporting pin. This places the wing roller in acentered position, or, in other words, in a position in which the idlerassembly is substantially perpendicular to the direction of belt travel.

Phantom outline 44 indicates the position of the wing roller when theslot 31b is made to sit on the supporting pin. The wing roller is thencanted inwards, but in an upstream direction or, when the direction ofbelt travel is reversed, the new downstream direction.

The use and operation of the invention are as follows:

It is not nec ssary and sometimes it is not desirable to cant all thewing rollers in a conveyor to train the belt. This is because unusuallyheavy power demands are put on the belt driving motor, and the belt maytend to wear too quickly. it has been found that training a few keyrollers, such as those located adjacent high spots in the conveyorterrain, will produce adequate belt training control. This inventionmakes possible the selection of a few key training idler assemblyrollers to maintain the belt in train without increasing the powerconsumption or causing undue chafing of the belt.

When the conveying reach 17 of the belt tends to detrain from a truecenter position towards one of the wing rollers, the belt 17 can beretrained to the'center position by canting the appropriate wingdollers. Thus, when the belt in FIGURE 3 travels in the directionindicated by the arrow, the belt is trained by raising the wing roller19 or 21 to disengage the seating of the center. position slot 31a fromthe shank 32 of a supporting pin, and the slot 31 of the bracket plate30 is dropped ontothe shank. The bracket plate 30 is raised by graspingthe laterally eXtend ing handle 41 and raising the bracket plate 30 andthe attached wing roller 19 or 21. 'When the direction of elt travel isupstream or opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow in FIGURE3, then the belt is trained by dropping slot 31b of the bracket plateonto the shank positions is advantageous in that conveyor belts areoften run in a reverse direction, as when miners are carried into themine.

The foregoing invention can now be practiced, and such practitionerswill know that the invention is not 'ecessarily restricted to theparticular embodiments presented herein. The scope of the invention isto be defined by the terms of the following claims as given meaning bythe preceding description.

I claim:

1. A positive belt training roller assembly for a flexible beltconveyor, said roller assembly including, in combination,

a plurality of rollers including an end roller, and

structure for positively canting the end roller into any one of threepre-selected positions independently of canting movement of any otherroller in the roller assembly, said structure including, in combination,

first and second bracket members,

the first bracket member being securable to a base structure such as theside-frame of a belt conveyor,

the second bracket member being attached to the outer end portion of theend roller,

21 first pin and slot type connector joining the first and secondbracket members to one another at a first connecting point,

said first pin and slot type connector enabling the first and secondbracket members to move rotationally and linearly with respect to oneanother,

a second pin and slot type connector joining the first and secondbracket members to one another at a second connecting point,

said second pin and slot type connector including three seatingsurfaces, each one of which positively positions the first and secondbracket members in fixed engagement with one another,

the distances between the seats and the point of connection of the outerend of the roller to the second bracket member being such that saidouter end is maintained at the same horizontal level in'any one of theaforesaid three pre-selected postiions.

2.,The positive belt training roller assembly of claim 1 furthercharacterized in that the first bracket member is secured to a basestructure by means providinglimited movement of the first bracketmember, and thereby the outer end portion of the end roller, withrespect to the base structure. V

3. The positive belt training roller assembly of claim 1 furthercharacterized in that the three seating surfaces are formed onthe secondbracket member.

Referencestlitezl by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS SAMUEL F.COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

JU lUS WEST, ERNEST A. FALLER, Ire,

Examiners.

1. A POSITIVE BELT TRAINING ROLLER ASSEMBLY FOR A FLEXIBLE BELTCONVEYOR, SAID ROLLER ASSEMBLY INCLUDING, IN COMBINATION. A PLURALITY OFROLLERS INCLUDING AN END ROLLER, AND STRUCTURE FOR POSITIVELY CANTINGTHE END ROLLER INTO ANY ONE OF THREE PRE-SELECTED POSITIONSINDEPENDENTLY OF CANTING MOVEMENT OF ANY OTHER ROLLER IN THE ROLLERASSEMBLY, SAID STRUCTURE INCLUDING, IN COMBINATION, FIRST AND SECONDBRACKETS MEMBERS, THE FIRST BRACKET MEMBER BEING SECURABLE TO A BASESTRUCTURE SUCH AS THE SIDE-FRAME OF A BELT CONVEYOR, THE SECOND BRACKETMEMBER BEING ATTACHED TO THE OUTER END PORTION OF THE END ROLLER, AFIRST PIN AND SLOT TYPE CONNECTOR JOINING THE FIRST AND SECOND BRACKETMEMBERS TO ONE ANOTHER AT A FIRST CONNECTING POINT, SAID FIRST PIN ANDSLOT TYPE CONNECTOR ENABLING THE FIRST AND SECOND BRACKET MEMBERS TOMOVE ROTATIONALLY AND LINEARLY WITH RESPECT TO ONE ANOTHER, A SECOND PINAND SLOT TYPE CONNECTOR JOINING THE FIRST AND SECOND BRACKET MEMBERS TOONE ANOTHER AT A SECOND CONNECTING POINT, SAID SECOND PIN AND SLOT TYPECONNECTOR INCLUDING THREE SEATING SURFACES, EACH ONE OF WHICH POSITIVELYPOSITIONS THE FIRST AND SECOND BRACKET MEMBERS IN FIXED ENGAGEMENT WITHONE ANOTHER, THE DISTANCES BETWEEN THE SEATS AND THE POINT OF CONNECTIONOF THE OUTER END OF THE ROLLER TO THE SECOND BRACKET MEMBER BEING SUCHTHAT SAID OUTER END IS MAINTAINED AT THE SAME HORIZONTAL LEVEL IN ANYONE OF THE AFORESAID THREE PRE-SELECTED POSITIONS.